Government Seeks Approval from FPÖ and Greens for Electricity Market Act

ÖVP energy spokesperson Tanja Graf expressed the expectation of a "positive response" to the electricity market law by the time of the Economic Committee meeting next Tuesday. SPÖ colleague Alois Schroll agreed and emphasized that "around-the-clock discussions" had been held in recent days. "If it is important to the opposition parties to bring this law to fruition (...), then everyone is invited to vote with us." Similarly, NEOS energy spokesperson Karin Doppelbauer stated: "Anyone who wants the energy transition should agree as soon as possible."

No Details on Negotiations About Electricity Market Law

The three National Council members once again praised the advantages that the proposed law would have from their perspective. They did not want to reveal any details about the negotiations with the FPÖ and the Greens at the press conference, which was called at short notice on Friday. It was agreed not to communicate individual points through the media, said Graf.

According to the government's plans, the electricity market law is intended to ensure cheaper electricity prices. The planned feed-in tariffs, which would also involve electricity producers in the grid costs, are particularly controversial. As recently announced, however, small PV systems with a capacity of less than 7 kilowatts are to be exempted from this. The draft law also provides for a peak capping for solar and wind power plants. This was particularly criticized by the wind industry. Specifically, it should be possible for the grid operator to reduce the fed-in power of these plants in the event of an impending grid overload.

The opposition parties showed themselves quite willing to negotiate in their statements: "The goal is to sustainably reduce energy costs, rather than merely distributing alms with one-time payments," noted FPÖ General Secretary Christian Hafenecker. The working group will continue to work as agreed with the government and present results by mid-January. Lukas Hammer, energy spokesperson for the Greens, referred to constructive discussions but criticized the feed-in tariffs as a new levy on Austrian electricity production. "If the government is willing to compromise here, we will quickly find a solution," added Hammer.

(APA/Red)

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